happen. Mr Secretary .’
Blaylock sat up, kicking the cover off his bed. The voice in his ear became high, sinister in its purity, a choirboy reading from the Bible.
‘And when it happens, you will have to ask yourself – what did I do to prevent it?’
‘Listen, whoever you are, you’re making a big mistake.’
The voice changed again – so thickly sepulchral it could have issued from a crypt. ‘ Proud of yourself? Big man? You should be ashamed. You should die of shame. This country is run by vermin and you’re the biggest rat of them all. The trap is set. Look out! ’
Blaylock moved for the door, hearing an approach outside.
‘Your time is up.’
The last thing Blaylock heard coming down the line was the mad clamour of an alarm clock, then Terry was rapping at his door.
*
The kitchen clock read 03.17 as Blaylock brewed a pot of tea for Terry and his police team plus the new arrival, a trim and shaven-headed detective from Scotland Yard Counter-Terrorism who introduced himself, in politely estuarine tones, as Detective Neil Hill.
‘May I have a look at your phone, sir?’
Blaylock passed over his battered BlackBerry, feeling a similar sheepishness as when his son cast a jaundiced eye over the ageing device.
‘Am I going to have to lose that?’
‘No, sir, what I’m thinking is we’ll install a bit of software on it that tracks and records calls? Obviously we’ll get what we can from the original call. But the payday will be if they call back.’
Blaylock nodded, having long been vaguely of the assumption that his phone was already tapped. ‘Okay. Fine.’
‘You feel alright, sir? Not too spooked?’
‘Oh yeah, sure. It’d take more than that.’
‘We’ll get the handset back to you before the morning’s out, sir. We just have to sort out the surveillance authorisation.’
‘You mean I’ll have to sign a warrant on myself?’
The officer nodded, clearly seeing neither harm nor humour in this simple procedure. Blaylock tipped his tea into the sink, thanked Detective Hill for his efficiency, bid goodnight to his minders and trudged back upstairs in search of sleep.
FROM: HOME OFFICE AND THE RT HON DAVID BLAYLOCK MP
HOME SECRETARY’S SPEECH TO ASSOCIATION OF CHIEF POLICE OFFICERS
Original script, check against delivery
I know that change is painful. This government does not seek change for its own sake. When economies are forced on us I accept these will be unpopular. I don’t want a confrontation with police, only a conversation. And be assured, I hear you.
But I cannot simply heed your wishes. My budget is not quite nine billion pounds. Policing receives nearly half that. In recent years police numbers reached record levels, but those levels were just not affordable to the public purse. They have had to come down, and they will have to come down further.
Despite that, I am – yes – asking the police to achieve more. But let’s try to meet that challenge, together. Even in straitened times, with intelligence and purpose and fresh thinking, we can cut crime.
It can done by better teamwork, co-thinking and partnership across forces and regions.
It can be done by better technology. You need the right tools for the job, and on this I back you to the hilt.
It can be done by initiative. My commitment to ‘restorative justice’ has given officers the power to use their own judgement over minor offences – to give swifter satisfaction to victims of those crimes. Any good police officer wants to take the lead that way.
And leadership, above all, is how the thing can be done. I’m asking you, the leaders, to lead change. Part of that is appreciating how money gets spent; maybe you see this more clearly than the rank and file. But you will make the big decisions, based on the consent of the people, whom you serve, just as this government serves. We know what needs doing, and our duty is to do it – not to complain or dissent. So let’s none of us try to hide behind whatever
Blaylock sat up, kicking the cover off his bed. The voice in his ear became high, sinister in its purity, a choirboy reading from the Bible.
‘And when it happens, you will have to ask yourself – what did I do to prevent it?’
‘Listen, whoever you are, you’re making a big mistake.’
The voice changed again – so thickly sepulchral it could have issued from a crypt. ‘ Proud of yourself? Big man? You should be ashamed. You should die of shame. This country is run by vermin and you’re the biggest rat of them all. The trap is set. Look out! ’
Blaylock moved for the door, hearing an approach outside.
‘Your time is up.’
The last thing Blaylock heard coming down the line was the mad clamour of an alarm clock, then Terry was rapping at his door.
*
The kitchen clock read 03.17 as Blaylock brewed a pot of tea for Terry and his police team plus the new arrival, a trim and shaven-headed detective from Scotland Yard Counter-Terrorism who introduced himself, in politely estuarine tones, as Detective Neil Hill.
‘May I have a look at your phone, sir?’
Blaylock passed over his battered BlackBerry, feeling a similar sheepishness as when his son cast a jaundiced eye over the ageing device.
‘Am I going to have to lose that?’
‘No, sir, what I’m thinking is we’ll install a bit of software on it that tracks and records calls? Obviously we’ll get what we can from the original call. But the payday will be if they call back.’
Blaylock nodded, having long been vaguely of the assumption that his phone was already tapped. ‘Okay. Fine.’
‘You feel alright, sir? Not too spooked?’
‘Oh yeah, sure. It’d take more than that.’
‘We’ll get the handset back to you before the morning’s out, sir. We just have to sort out the surveillance authorisation.’
‘You mean I’ll have to sign a warrant on myself?’
The officer nodded, clearly seeing neither harm nor humour in this simple procedure. Blaylock tipped his tea into the sink, thanked Detective Hill for his efficiency, bid goodnight to his minders and trudged back upstairs in search of sleep.
FROM: HOME OFFICE AND THE RT HON DAVID BLAYLOCK MP
HOME SECRETARY’S SPEECH TO ASSOCIATION OF CHIEF POLICE OFFICERS
Original script, check against delivery
I know that change is painful. This government does not seek change for its own sake. When economies are forced on us I accept these will be unpopular. I don’t want a confrontation with police, only a conversation. And be assured, I hear you.
But I cannot simply heed your wishes. My budget is not quite nine billion pounds. Policing receives nearly half that. In recent years police numbers reached record levels, but those levels were just not affordable to the public purse. They have had to come down, and they will have to come down further.
Despite that, I am – yes – asking the police to achieve more. But let’s try to meet that challenge, together. Even in straitened times, with intelligence and purpose and fresh thinking, we can cut crime.
It can done by better teamwork, co-thinking and partnership across forces and regions.
It can be done by better technology. You need the right tools for the job, and on this I back you to the hilt.
It can be done by initiative. My commitment to ‘restorative justice’ has given officers the power to use their own judgement over minor offences – to give swifter satisfaction to victims of those crimes. Any good police officer wants to take the lead that way.
And leadership, above all, is how the thing can be done. I’m asking you, the leaders, to lead change. Part of that is appreciating how money gets spent; maybe you see this more clearly than the rank and file. But you will make the big decisions, based on the consent of the people, whom you serve, just as this government serves. We know what needs doing, and our duty is to do it – not to complain or dissent. So let’s none of us try to hide behind whatever
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